Bandung – The commander of the Army Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad, Green Berets) Lieutenant General Gatot Nurmantyo has called on all Indonesians to be on guard against a proxy war. This war, which uses third parties in order to defeat its enemies, is largely directed at food, water and energy sources.

Indonesia with its huge potential natural resources has become an arena of competing interests for several countries through this proxy war. Moreover indications have already become apparent of maneuvers that could endanger the survival of national unity.

“Indonesia is not being ignored as a target and the signs are already apparent from among other things separatist movements, mass demonstrations by protesting workers along with clashed between groups including students. All kinds of efforts are being made so that Indonesia does not become an advanced country, but just remains a market”, said Nurmantyo during a public lecture titled “The Role of Youth in Confronting the Proxy War” at the west auditorium at the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) in West Java on Wednesday August 30.

New conflicts for control will emerge in concert with the rapid pace of world population growth that is not being counterbalanced by the availability of food, clean water and energy. Control will not be sought through conventional wars, but rather through proxy wars where it is impossible to know friend from foe. Enemies will utilise and control non-state actors such as non-government organisations, mass organisations or individuals.

“Such a proxy war is being played out in the Ukraine [by those who] have their sights on the large oil deposits in the country”, he said.

Nurmantyo quoted from a report on estimated energy needs by British Petroleum saying that in the future world interests will turn to the control of food and energy that are sourced from plants (bio-energy).

In 2030 the world’s population is estimated to reach 11.6 billion people. Around 1.2 billion people live outside of equatorial regions who are seeking food, water and energy from the equatorial regions.

According to Nurmantyo, in terms of ownership of oil, gas and methane gas in Indonesia, it is currently being processed by foreign companies that have large amounts of capital, including among others the United States, Britain, Australia, Italy, China, Malaysia and Norway.

Nurmantyo also touched on tangible indications of proxy war in Indonesia, one of which was the loss of East Timor. Australia, which knew there were oil and natural gas reserves in the Timor Gap sought to control these oil reserves through the issue of human rights.

ITB Deputy Rector Kadarsah Suryadi said that what had been conveyed by Nurmantyo should serve as a warning for the need for a nationalist outlook. “Students don’t just need an academic outlook but also a nationalist outlook”, he said. (SEM)

[Translated by James Balowski for the Indoleft News Service.]

Source: http://print.kompas.com/KOMPAS_ART0000000000000000006371940